Pace the Night
by Dark Ice Dragon
Summary: The wolf was restless tonight.
1. First Quarter Moon

**Summary**: The wolf was restless tonight.

Set somewhere between the end of season two and the start of season five.

So, this isn't so much an offshoot from Night Disturbance as an AU of that fic. :3

Thanks to Darlingfox for giving me the plotbunny for this! 8D

* * *

**************Pace the Night**

By Dark Ice Dragon

First Quarter Moon

* * *

The wolf was restless tonight; M-21 could feel it pacing in his head, wanting _out_, wanting to run, wanting to feel the wind in his/their fur. The enclosed walls made his skin itch, the dead air not helping. It had been a slow build over the day, M-21 only realising he'd had more energy than usual just before the children left school, not wanting to stand still for even a minute, patrolling the grounds more often.

The children being at the house had helped, somewhat. They had kept him distracted, their antics syphoning off the extra energy. But when the children had left, the restlessness had made itself known again, worse than before, non-human instincts on its tail. M-21 had retreated to his room and there was no stopping the soft growl that escaped his throat, no matter how much he tried to trap it as he searched for the calendar he had bought recently.

First quarter moon.

M-21 wasn't surprised. He had last felt non-human instincts rising to the surface a few weeks ago, but it hadn't lasted for long and he had had enough warning to lock himself in his room, though he hadn't done much more than lay on his bed, staring at the wall. He'd thought it had been a one-off (he'd _hoped_it had been a one-off), the symptoms gone completely the next day, feeling like he'd imagined it.

This. This was different though. He had far more energy compared to what had happened before that it practically made his skin thrum.

He didn't know what the full moon would unleash. Maybe the wolf would be in complete control, or maybe the instincts would be at their peak but he would still be himself. Or maybe he would be like a traditional werewolf, his body transforming fully and then he would infect people with his werewolf blood.

He should warn the others.

Later.

M-21's breath came in short gasps as the _need_to get out and run increased. He wasn't a danger (yet), he knew he wouldn't hurt anyone the way he was currently. What he also knew was he needed get rid of all the extra energy he had.

He couldn't leave through the front door (everyone would notice; everyone would ask. It would _waste time_) so M-21 opened his window, paused when he had it open as much as possible, just breathing in the night air and identifying the scents mingled there, and then leaped out.

The night was calling to him.

xOx

M-21's mind was a _mess_, he could tell that much, but any attempts to think deeper than that just caused his thoughts to scatter further (and he needed to think, needed to be aware, even if he didn't know what for).

He was following a path, even though he couldn't trace where to, the rooftops not the usual route, the scent trail faint this high (they were overlaid with week-old trails - they were traversed, but not so frequently), but still recognisable all the same. The route he had taken was a meandering one though, crossing over the trail a number of times - he just wanted to _run_, not particularly caring about the speed or the time he took to reach his destination. He could notice his running style was different, his centre of balance lower, his jumps not as high, but longer.

It didn't matter.

Drowning himself in his senses did, tasting the air (chock-full of cars, food, and humans), feeling the flicker of annoyance every time he tried to listen to something because his ears were wrong and he had to turn his head to hear it properly (and there was something wrong with _that_, a sudden twinge in his stomach, but there was no danger nearby so he ignored it).

He eventually made it to the school (his school; part of his territory) and he hunkered down on top of the rooftop, surveying the city around him.

It was quiet there, not as many cars or people passing by, just the gentle wind as it swept over him.

The moon was high in the sky, wispy clouds obscuring it, but the stars glittered keenly next to it. The air was crisp, enough to be felt, his breath slightly visible in front of him. He wasn't howling at the moon - that meant something, but he wasn't entirely sure what.

After some time, he could faintly hear two people jumping across roofs, coming closer to him. He frowned when he had to turn his head to hear them better, his ears still not doing what he wanted them to do.

The wind picked up just then, blowing the approachers' scent in his direction. They were familiar, known to him instantly: _packmates_. He relaxed, standing up to greet them with a lopsided grin (he didn't like his lack of tail, but they didn't have tails either, so they should understand him; they normally did anyway, when he barely spoke at all).

The two landed a little distance away from him, and they stayed there, watching him.

"Hey, M-21," the...hm. Names. They had names and _his _was bundled around metal and static, but the name wasn't quite... A click of the tongue?

"_Hey_," he replied back, giving up on the name. His name didn't matter - he was a packmate; that's all he needed to know. (Not right; never right. Names were _important_.) There was something wrong in the way he'd said that though, his packmates showing him the whites of their eyes.

Oh. He'd answered with a growl; they didn't know what he'd said, did they? "Hey," he tried again, sounding the word out carefully. He was sure that had been right this time.

"How you feeling?" Metal-and-static asked, stepping towards him, Oil-and-gunpowder only a step behind.

How was he feeling? He tilted his head as he considered the question. He didn't feel as restless as he had at the start of the night, and his thoughts had finally settled, calmed, even though he knew they still weren't quite _right_.

"Better," he said slowly.

Metal-and-static smiled. "Good."

There was a small pause. "You wanna come home?" Metal-and-static asked, his hands spread wide.

He nodded, closing the last small gap between them. He had done what he'd wanted and he would go wherever they went. Always.

xOx

The journey back didn't take very long; even though the pace was a little slower than what he'd used to get to his school, they moved in a straight line towards home. Metal-and-static and Oil-and-gunpowder kept twisting around to check he was still following.

He could hear Darkness-and-blood talking with Metal-and-static for a short while, his voice distorted with a slight echo to it. He'd made especially sure to stay as quiet as he could during then, not wanting to draw attention.

They stopped at one of the rooftops beside home, Metal-and-static jumping to his window and sitting on the sill, his legs dangling outside as he leaned into his room to retrieve…three pairs of shoes? Metal-and-static slipped on a pair and then waited, a pair in each hand.

Oil-and-gunpowder turned to him. "You remember we're not supposed to make a mess inside?"

He winced, ducking his head. Yes, he definitely knew that.

"Ah…" Oil-and-gunpowder didn't say anything, shifting on his feet.

Metal-and-static threw one pair high into the air and Oil-and-gunpowder leaped, grabbing them and putting them on just before landing on the window-sill.

When they turned to him, he nodded, knowing what it was he needed to do.

When they were inside, Oil-and-gunpowder shut the window after swiping at it with a hand.

"So, are you hungry?" Metal-and-static asked, rocking on his heels a little bit. "When you didn't come down for dinner..."

They went looking for him. He should have known that would happen when he left, but the need to get out and run had overwhelmed everything.

He frowned, concentrating on finding the correct words to answer his question.

"Not hungry; had big lunch." He'd had a craving for meat then, and hadn't thought much about the extra food he'd been eating.

"Hm," Oil-and-gunpowder said, glancing out the window. "Why did you...run out the house?" he asked quietly.

"I wanted-" No, that wasn't right. "-needed out. The moon..." There was something about the moon again, but he couldn't place what. He shook his head, crinkling his nose.

"S'all right - we'll ask in the morning," Metal-and-static said, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

He would be able to answer properly then, he knew that, even if he didn't know why. He gave a little huff, leaning into Metal-and-static's touch. Metal-and-static snapped his head to stare at him and he blinked back at him, tilting his head.

"Mm. It's nothing. So, do you mind if we sleep here?" Metal-and-static asked, nodding to Oil-and-gunpowder.

He blinked at them in confusion, staring at them for several seconds. "No." They were packmates; why would he mind?

Metal-and-static just chuckled quietly, a grin on his face.

He watched Oil-and-gunpowder move around his room before climbing into bed and falling asleep straight away.

xOx

M-21's back was sore. That was the first thing he was aware of. His back was sore because he had curled up into a ball for some reason when he had fallen asleep. Except he couldn't remember going to bed.

The next thing he was aware of was that he wasn't alone in his room, clearly hearing two sets of even, deep breathing. Two sleeping people. When he breathed in, he could recognise Tao's and Takeo's scent in the air and no-one else's. Safe, then.

He opened his eyes slowly anyway (why were they in his room and why hadn't he woken up when they had?) just in case he was wrong, still feigning sleep. Takeo had pulled a chair over to the window while Tao had claimed the foot of his bed, his back leaning on the wall. Beside him was his pocket computer. There was no-one else in sight.

... Something must have happened, because waking up to Tao and Takeo being in his room was one thing, but not waking up when someone had gone onto his _bed_...?

Carefully, M-21 stretched out, making sure he didn't brush against Tao. The soles of his feet felt weird, his skin not moving like it should. He scratched the bottom of one with his other foot and frowned when he felt something flake off. Dirt...? That was another thing to the growing list of things that didn't make sense.

There was a soft exhale from Tao and M-21 looked across at him, waiting; Tao would tell him what had happened last night, without prompting. He hadn't been in a fight (he didn't feel bruised and he didn't feel any aches; he couldn't smell blood from any of them either) but what had he been doing outside without his shoes on?

As soon as Tao was awake, Tao glanced at him. For a second, all Tao did was watch him. "M-21?" he said, peering at him carefully. That…didn't really alleviate M-21's worries.

"Morning," he said dryly, supposing he should say that, considering the circumstances. He pushed himself upright into a sitting position, rubbing the back of his neck. "What happened?"

And that was Takeo up completely, straightening in his chair. He stared at M-21 for a second, looking him over completely before letting out a small breath of relief.

"Ah..." Tao looked away for a second, at his pocket computer. "Do you know what it was last night?"

That…was a very vague question. M-21 wasn't sure what he was talking about, so his eyes drifted around his room as he thought. When his eyes passed over his calendar, he froze, the pieces clicking into place.

M-21 squeezed his eyes shut as everything rushed back to him. It felt like a dream, his thoughts flighty, but he knew it wasn't - there were too many senses involved, and it explained the confusing little details. "Shit."

Tao laughed weakly. "Yeeeah. You kinda wolfed out on us last night. No transformation, but you weren't all...here." There was a brief pause as Tao studied him, his expression gentle. "Do you remember anything?"

"All of it," M-21 said, sighing, slumping against the wall. He wasn't sure if he should be surprised - he didn't think he was a traditional werewolf like in the stories, and this hadn't happened on the night of a full moon either. But it did look like he might lose his entire sense of self when the full moon came...

"It felt..." M-21 gritted his teeth, letting the air out of his lungs in a long hiss. "It felt natural to think like that," he admitted. "_Normal_." He hadn't been able to fight against it. And for the most part, it had made _sense_. He could tell why he had thought certain things while the werewolf instincts were at play; he thought like that on a daily basis, just using different words and more inhibited. Maybe that was why the instincts had taken him over so easily.

"You didn't seem that different from usual," Takeo said, and M-21 turned to stare at him incredulously. He knew what he had been thinking then, but he was sure he'd acted a lot differently.

"Well," Takeo started, shifting in his chair, "you didn't hurt anyone, you headed for the school, and you recognised us."

"Yeah," Tao agreed, nodding. "We could still recognise you as _you _- just grinning a little wider than usual," he teased.

M-21 snorted. That grin had not been 'a little wider than usual'. But, it was comforting to hear. If he was still mostly himself on the night of the first quarter moon, then hopefully that would be the same for the full moon.

"Hey," Tao said softly, tilting his head back, "even if you do lose yourself on the full moon, we know now, so we'll be prepared if it happens."

M-21 couldn't help but snort, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"We know you worry," Takeo added, understanding in his eyes.

He really couldn't hide what he was thinking from them; they just read it off him if he did. "We should be getting ready," he said as a response, sliding out of bed. The clock said it was about time he should be waking up anyway.

"Hmm. You sure?" Tao asked, stretching.

M-21 double-checked what his body was telling him, but nothing else was protesting so he nodded. "I wasn't injured last night, and I'm thinking normally now." Which didn't mean nearly as much as it would have before, because he'd thought he'd been thinking normally last night as well. At least he'd unconsciously minimised the number of people seeing him act suspiciously when he'd stuck to the rooftops.

...

Which was the kind of thing he'd do normally... He really hadn't been acting that differently, huh?

Once Tao and Takeo were out his room, it didn't take M-21 long to get ready. Just as he was closing his door, he heard someone walking down the corridor behind him.

"M-21," Frankenstein greeted, and M-21 stilled, his breath catching in his throat. Frankenstein knew about werewolves. He'd known enough to recognise what was inside him when he'd first arrived. So maybe… But could he really ask…?

"Ah, Frankenstein…" he said, unsure. Frankenstein paused, waiting for him to finish, a mild curious expression on his face. M-21 pursed his lips, struggling to find the right words so it didn't sound like he was making a demand. "Do you have any data left about werewolves?" He couldn't be too hopeful of Frankenstein having anything though – Frankenstein had said they'd always been hiding and even if he _had _found some werewolves, it had to be from over eight-hundred years ago. He couldn't still have data from back then.

Frankenstein's face cleared and he smiled, nodding. "Of course." One look was enough to recognise the Frankenstein wanted him to follow, and he did, his stomach clenching with nervousness as Frankenstein lead him towards his lab.

When the doors hissed shut, Frankenstein turned to one of the many machines in the lab, it lighting up at his touch. "I don't have that much data on werewolves, but what little I have, I can give it to you." The screen started to throw out windows of scrolling text too fast to read and Frankenstein paused to study it.

"My data may not be fully relevant to you, but it could still be useful to read."

M-21 stared at the screen, wondering if that was Frankenstein's 'not much information' (and, really, he should know by now that Frankenstein's measurements of anything weren't normal to anyone else). "I… Thank you," he said hoarsely, not looking at Frankenstein. Any data was better than nothing, and he could trust that whatever Frankenstein had found, it would be thorough.

"But," –he frowned, glancing back at Frankenstein- "why did you never offer this before?" He'd had this data for all this time and kept it from him.

Frankenstein blinked at him, before chuckling. "You didn't ask."

…R-right. Of course. Back then, he'd only just been invited to the house, he hadn't known he could ask for things, he hadn't known that what Frankenstein considered 'little' was more than what other people put into an entire book.

"I'll have it prepared and ready for you on your table when you come back," Frankenstein said, tapping at a couple of keys.

"Thank you," M-21 said again softly, just before turning and leaving.

He slowly walked up the stairs to the house, preparing himself for the day to come. Tao and Takeo hadn't seemed to think him weak for letting the wolf instincts overwhelm him, but he couldn't help but think it of himself anyway. There didn't seem to be any overflow of instincts from the night before, but he'd be trying to keep track a close eye on himself over the next month.

"Heeey, M-21," Tao called out as soon as M-21 entered the living room, and he started, surprised that he – that everyone else was still in the house. He thought they would have left by now.

"Hmph," Regis huffed, fixing him with a dry glare. "Making us wait for him like this."

M-21 gaped at them for a brief second before he shut his mouth, unidentifiable emotions swelling in him. "I had something important to take care of."

Regis didn't look at all impressed. "More important than your duty to the school?"

In some ways, it was. If he was a danger to the children… "You're admitting you need my help protecting the children?" he asked as they made their way out the house, Tao giving him a clap on the shoulder once he reached them.

Regis _spluttered_. "I didn't say that! It's your job to protect them," he finished, frowning.

And he'd been doing just that. Relieved, M-21's started to smirk as he prepared his retort.

* * *

Written for the No True Pair prompt, 'M-21 and M-21 can communicate without saying a word'.

There's going to (hopefully) be three parts to this. The second part's finished; the third part is getting rewritten. Buut, the parts aren't connected in any way apart from M-21 wolfing out. I'd tried to make them connect, but it didn't work. Ah well.


	2. Full Moon

**Summary**: The wolf was restless tonight.

Quick reminder, these parts aren't connected with each other apart from having a wolfed-out!M-21. :3

* * *

**************Pace the Night**

By Dark Ice Dragon

Full Moon

* * *

Regis exhaled softly as he walked down the corridor, moonlight starting to shine through some of the windows, wondering if he should check up on M-21 - when they had been returning home, both Tao and Takeo had been hovering at M-21's shoulders, which was concerning enough. At a glance, it was easy to see why: M-21 had been holding himself tensely, keeping his distance from everyone, his expression focused but directed inward. The fact that M-21 _hadn't noticed _Tao and Takeo's worry was something else altogether. Thankfully the children hadn't come over, responsibilities elsewhere for the night. M-21 had gone to his room as soon as they were home but had not been seen since. Tao and Takeo were mostly acting like their usual selves, but Regis could see their glances towards the direction of M-21's room.

Revealing he was concerned, however... Well, maybe their...snarking, as Tao had put it once, would help distract M-21 from whatever was bothering him.

And he was already at M-21's door. Regis stared at it for a second before clearing his throat, checking to see if anyone else was there; obviously his body knew what his mind would decide and had already started moving before it had come to its conclusion.

He knocked twice on the door and waited. When there wasn't an answer, he frowned, considering whether he should knock again. It had been loud enough to hear; repeating the action wouldn't do anything, and if M-21 was asleep...

There was shuffle-like sound from the other side of the door, but Regis' frown deepened when he realised M-21 was having difficulty opening it, sounding like he was running a hand down the wood. Regis quickly pushed down the handle, holding it there for a second, and hoped that would be a good enough signal before he opened the door and hit M-21.

M-21 had understood it -Regis didn't hit anything- but he froze at the doorway, the air caught in his throat.

M-21 stared blandly back and Regis took note of all his changes: his hair had decided that it no longer liked gravity, standing up in points; his hair also spread across to his cheeks, symmetrical points that angled towards his nose; Regis could just see the hint of fangs poking out from under his lips; M-21's arms were covered from fingertip right up to his neck by the looks up it under his shirt, silver claws delicately resting on the carpet. That wasn't what had startled Regis the most however: it was the fact that M-21 was crouched on all fours, looking as if he had no intention to straighten himself. Behind him, the full moon shone through the window.

Regis knew that M-21 could transform, knew that its source was from a werewolf, even though he didn't know exactly how. But Regis had only ever seen at most his hands fully transformed, nothing more. He hadn't thought M-21's transformation could progress further than that.

There was something in the way that M-21 was staring at him that made Regis uneasy, his face blank, looking at him, but not _seeing_ him. Which made a part of Regis question what exactly had happened to cause this. He could recall some titbit of information he had read some time ago regarding werewolves and the full moon, but he hadn't paid it any heed when he'd read what humans thought nobles did. If _that _was what they said about nobles, he couldn't trust what they said about werewolves. But if M-21 truly had lost his sense of self…

And Regis had apparently been standing there for too long, one side of M-21's mouth twisting up suddenly before he rushed outside his room and Regis had a second of staring dumbfounded at the spot M-21 had been occupying before whirling around with a breathed, "Dammit!" He could hear M-21 thundering somewhere deeper in the house and Regis ran after him, his mind full of possibilities of what could happen. If M-21 made it outside, looking the way he was...!

He skidded to a stop at a fork, twisting left and right, trying to pinpoint where M-21 was. Right _there_, at the end of the corridor, waiting for him. Or not - as soon as Regis saw him, M-21 was off again. This continued on, and each time, Regis' stomach dropped further because M-21 _wouldn't do this_. He barely reacted to his name being called out and for some reason, that was worse to Regis.

But maybe there was still some remnants of M-21 still there, buried under all the werewolf instinct; he was _teasing_him, always keeping ahead but making sure Regis knew exactly where he was, growling non-threateningly when Regis fell too far behind, the grin still on his face. It frustrated Regis, for M-21 to keep dancing out of reach with ease, but so long as M-21 didn't attempt to take their...game outside, he was willing for it to carry on. It didn't appear like M-21 was interested in going outside, the windows looking untouched when Regis passed them and spared them a glance.

"Hey! What's wrong?"

Regis looked over his shoulder to see the rest of the RK-5 (minus Frankenstein) standing behind him, battle-ready with their weapons drawn. Making sure M-21 was still there (still in the same place, still watching; he seemed to have straightened slightly though, paying more attention), Regis thought he should have enough time to tell them what had happened.

"It's the night of the full moon," he said quickly, keeping an eye on M-21, just in case he took too long and M-21 ran off again. "It apparently puts him in a...playful mood." That was only the way Regis could explain it, hoping the others would understand him.

"Really?" Tao didn't put his whip away, but he did relax, the others following soon after. Tao poked his head around the corner and M-21 perked up at the sight of him, a hand moving to the side in preparation to run, leaning in the same direction, but not disappearing from sight. Yet.

Regis glanced at Tao, who looked like he was pondering something.

"He hasn't tried going outside?" Tao asked, the rest of the RK-5 coming up behind him to check on M-21.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "He's stayed on this floor," he added, thankful of that. If they had continued their chase and ran into the homeowner… It wasn't a thought Regis wanted to entertain.

Tao hummed, nodding as he put his whip away. "Okay, we can do that." …Do what? Then Tao grinned and Regis' stomach sank in a completely different way, already dreading what he was going to say. "I know, we can treat this like a training exercise!"

Takeo squawked, Regis not too far behind him.

"What?" Tao asked innocently. "It'll keep him distracted and we can practice working together and coordinating our movements!"

"And if we're able to catch him?" Seira asked.

"No idea," Tao said truthfully, scratching his cheek. "D'you think we'd be able to?"

They turned to study M-21, who cocked his head at them.

This was M-21 they were talking about, who solved his problems more with his wits than attacked it with brute strength.

...M-21 would never let them forget it if he was able to stay out of their grasp for an entire night when he was like this.

"I'm going to get the earpieces," Tao told them, turning. He paused, looking back at M-21. "No running till I get back, okay?"

M-21 watched Tao leave but while he tensed slightly, he didn't move. Regis _knew_if he tried to reduce the distance between them before Tao came back, M-21 would start running again, his body primed to move at a second's notice.

Tao wasn't gone for long and he gave everyone an earpiece; Regis wasn't sure what to make of the fact that Tao had appeared to have colour-coded all of them. As soon as everyone had an earpiece in their hand, M-21 was gone, not making nearly as much noise he had when Regis had been chasing him. Which said he _had_been doing that solely for Regis' benefit.

Muttering under his breath, Regis tried to put the earpiece in as quickly as possible, Tao letting out a laugh beside him.

"All right, let the chase begin!"

This night...was going to be different from the usual.

* * *

Written for the No True Pair prompt, 'Regis and M-21, not fully human'.

Sooo, on this particular full moon, M-21 was in a safe place, stress was fairly minimal (from outside factors anyway), there was no blood in the air, and there wasn't anything for him to protect. So, relaxed!wolfed-out-M-21. If there _had_ been any of these present when M-21 had wolfed out… Yeah, this would have been a different fic. *snerk* (Then again, that's normal. XD;;;)


	3. Last Quarter Moon

**Summary**: The wolf was restless tonight.

Maybe contains M-21/Tao. I can't tell anymore.

Pronouns, pronouns, pronouns, I haaaate yoouuuuuu. Or maybe it's just my writing style. ORZ;

And just clearing things up, full-moon!M-21 is always on all fours while first-quarter! and last quarter!M-21 are always on two feet, if a little hunched over. :3 At least, in this batch of fics.

* * *

**************Pace the Night**

By Dark Ice Dragon

Last Quarter Moon

* * *

Hmm. His thoughts had changed, were different from what they were usually like; his head felt fuzzy and he couldn't concentrate, his thoughts drifting away every couple of seconds. He wasn't sure when it had happened (it hadn't been sudden, a slow and steady progression instead that tweaked had his thoughts every minute), but he didn't think he had been drugged – he hadn't eaten that much at lunch, feeling listless at the time, and he hadn't eaten anything else since. He couldn't feel the burn of something foreign coursing through his system either, everything else feeling the same. Just. Not his thoughts.

He stared up at the moon, his mind wandering, hearing the faint sounds of nightlife float in through the window. It was quiet then, but, that wasn't what he wanted – there was a need in his heart, an almost ache and he turned away from the moon, leaving his room.

In the corridor, he paused there, taking a deep breath of _home_. He could smell Metal-and-static's and Oil-and-gunpowder's scents, but Metal-and-static's was slightly stronger so he tracked that, following where it led. It didn't take him long to reach Metal-and-static's room and he nudged the door open with his fingertips; he didn't step in though, peering at the dark room, trying to see where Metal-and-static was. It wasn't hard to find him, Metal-and-static bathed in a lone screen's glow as he tapped away at the keyboard.

"Yo, M-21," Metal-and-static greeted, smiling at him and waving a hand. "Couldn't sleep, huh?" he said, his voice soft.

He shook his head. He could try to rest, but he knew he wouldn't be able to; he needed something first…

"Not because of nightmares though?" Metal-and-static asked, peering at him. "And why're you still standing all the way over there? Come in, come in!"

He shook his head again before he stepped into Metal-and-static's room, but didn't (couldn't) pay attention when Metal-and-static started to ramble. Metal-and-static turned around in his seat and windows started opening on the screen, still talking.

He ignored that and when he was finally close enough, he wrapped his arms around Metal-and-static's shoulders and burrowed his face into his neck, breathing in deeply. There was the ever lingering scent of metal and static left on his skin, the yakgwa he'd had after dinner, the fainter scent of ramen.

Metal-and-static stilled, and he could feel his pulse quicken. "Uh, M-21, you feeling okay?" When Metal-and-static turned his head, he straightened, looking at him curiously.

"Mm." His thoughts still weren't settling, fluttering between any thought that crossed his mind, but other than that, he was okay.

Metal-and-static blinked back at him, before his face cleared. "…Aah." Metal-and-static turned his attention back to the screen, and he lowered his head again, drifting in the certainty that Metal-and-static was definitely there.

There was a lot of clicking before it stopped all at once. "Oh, huh, it's the last quarter moon tonight," Metal-and-static said quietly, "not the full moon." A light chuckle. "But I guess that should be expected; that's what everyone else thinks about werewolves."

He would have responded, but he yawned widely instead, contentment curling in him.

"You sleepy now?"

"Nng."

"I'll take that to mean 'yes'," Metal-and-static said, and the clicking started again. "Hold on a sec, just need to… There! Now we'll know when the next moon phase is, just in case."

"Mm." That was good. He knew that; he didn't really care at that particular moment though.

They stayed like that for a while, the room quiet apart from the machine's whirr, and then Metal-and-static hummed. "M-21, do you want to sleep in my room…?"

He blinked slowly at the question, making a sleepy grumble. Wasn't that obvious?

"Oooh." Another light chuckle, almost too soft to hear, but he could feel it shake Metal-and-static's shoulders. "Well, it's okay with me; think it might be a little awkward when you wake up though."

He tilted his head at that. Why?

"Heh, there's a lot of reasons," Metal-and-static said lightly. "But once you find out what happened, I think you'll understand. And _you _are passing yawns around," he continued, yawning halfway through.

When Metal-and-static tensed in preparation to stand up, he let his arms drop, looking at the bed.

"Anywhere in particular you wanna sleep?"

He gave a small shake of the head at the question, not caring that much about it.

Metal-and-static scratched his jaw, stretching his other arm high in the air. "It'll probably better if I take the wall side," he said, climbing into bed, "it'll panic you less if you aren't cornered when you wake up."

He didn't say anything to that, following Metal-and-static, sighing as the blanket settled around him, already closing his eyes.

"I guess I should warn you, I might end up hugging you during the night – and you might not remember this, huh?"

Huffing, he pushed himself closer to Metal-and-static and bumped his forehead to his before pulling away, drowsiness overtaking his senses. He didn't mind.

* * *

Yakgwa is a kind of cookie, made of wheat flour, honey, sesame oil and then _deep fried_. jghjhu

Okay, some of the body language here isn't 'right' for how M-21's feeling (mostly the yawning and his head over Tao's shoulder – they mean something different to canines) but M-21's still got human blood in him, so. XD;; Also, the 'head over shoulder/body' might not mean the exact same thing to werewolves either, if they have a semi-bipedal form.

Written for No True Pair's prompt, 'Tao and M-21: aphrodisiacs/pollen/aliens made them do it'.

In case you're wondering, Tao asked M-21 if he wanted to sleep in his room because he'd expected M-21 to wander back to his own room to sleep. When he didn't… Not to mention, Tao realised he should keep an eye on M-21. XD;

No new moon fic because M-21's either really lethargic, or he doesn't wolf out during then. XD;

…I ramble so damn much. orz;;;


	4. Revelation

**Summary**: M-21's doing a bit of research the day after a full moon.

Blame Kaelin and how plotbunnies just spawn when I talk to people. ORZ;;

Uh, putting this with the Pace the Night fics because I guess that's my dumping ground for wolf!M-21. XD; The fic doesn't make sense on its own.

* * *

**************Revelation**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

M-21 frowned as he skimmed the webpage, trying to find out _what _exactly the wolf part of him had been thinking the night before when the instincts had taken over. (Which, he did know in perfect clarity - that was the problem.) He kept scrolling down, not interested at what was at the top of the page and he ignored the door opening beside him, registering someone had come into the computer room, but not checking who it was.

"M-21…?"

He twitched, recognising Frankenstein's voice. He was _not _the person M-21 wanted to see right then.

"You haven't had breakfast yet," Frankenstein continued, and M-21 looked up at him for a second before glancing somewhere else, quashing the surge of instincts that wanted to _check_.

"I'll…" The excuse died in his throat, because skipping a meal wasn't allowed in the house, and M-21 nodded, moving to switch the computer off.

"What are you researching…? If you need any help, you only have to ask." Frankenstein peered at his monitor and M-21 couldn't close the window fast enough. But Frankenstein had probably already seen it, read the entire page, and picked out which bits of information were true and which ones were false.

"A-ah." But that was what he needed, and M-21 cleared his throat, his gaze darting around the room, because as soon as he asked, Frankenstein would know why he was asking and… M-21 sighed. "Alphas," he said, watching Frankenstein, "in wolf packs."

"Hm?" Frankenstein raised a hand to his chin, one of his fingers tapping his cheek. "Alphas aren't necessarily an accurate descriptor in wolf packs; if anything they're… Ah." Frankenstein scrutinised him and M-21 _squirmed_. "May I ask what brought this about?"

"Last night…" That was all he needed to say, and M-21 clenched his teeth at the urge to sniff at Frankenstein again.

Frankenstein only chuckled. "Wolves live in a hierarchy; your werewolf instincts were merely translating what it saw into something it could understand."

That would… But that wasn't…

"I'll see you downstairs," Frankenstein said, leaving.

M-21 let out a long breath, leaning back on his chair when the door closed. He…was going to feel awkward for the next while, M-21 was sure – his werewolf instincts were insisting that Frankenstein and his master were the _breeding pair_ of the pack.


	5. Alternate Universe

**Summary**: Obviously, Tao and Takeo have fallen into an alternate universe.

Set post-season 4.

Blame the combined efforts of phireye, Kaelin and Lucathia for this. :|

Beware: So much crack ahead. XD

* * *

**************Alternate Universe**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

Tao was sure he was dreaming. Or maybe he'd fallen into some alternate universe where… Yeah. This scene wasn't making any sense to him. Tao reached out and yep, his fingers hit solid muscle – at least Takeo was here with him in this alternate universe, and it was going to be fun trying to explain this to them (because how was he supposed to explain when he had no idea how he and Takeo had fallen into this world? Did Boss' living room door also open up to another dimension on Tuesdays and he'd forgotten to mention that? That was a bit careless of him).

Because there was no way Tao could be seeing M-21 kissing _him_. _Especially _with Boss off to the side, seeing this, and there wasn't even a flicker of his purple-and-black aura hissing into view.

Really. Dreaming. Alternate universe. Maybe trussed up and drugged. _Something_, because this couldn't be real.

Except, now that he'd spent all those seconds gaping at the pair, Tao could see that M-21's hair was wild and spiked up, his arms covered in fur.

Oh, right; full moon tonight.

…That still didn't explain the kissing, because when M-21 wolfed out, he still kept his own personality and didn't do anything he wouldn't do at a shove the rest of the month, so unless M-21 had also been wanting to kiss him… (There was also the other matter of why _he _hadn't reacted yet, but maybe he was in shock too?)

"Wolves, when showing respect to higher-ranking wolves in their pack, lick the higher-ranking wolf's lips," Boss explained, his voice patient, if a little strained.

"Oh." Well, that explained a lot. M-21 pulled back from _his _face, saw Tao and Takeo and grinned at them, trotting to their side.

They really should do some more research on wolf pack behaviour, because being constantly caught out by new information like this was getting just a bit embarrassing.

xOx

"I did what?" M-21 croaked, freezing as he lifted his head off Takeo's lap.

"Kissed him!" Tao repeated gleefully, and M-21 knew Tao joked - he just didn't think he'd go as far as joking about _that_. But then that meant...

How wasn't he _dead_? M-21 straightened himself and saw _him_sitting at the head of the table. And Frankenstein was standing behind him.

Tao had said that _in front of Frankenstein_.

But…his skin wasn't prickling; Frankenstein's aura wasn't in view… What was going on?

Frankenstein opened his mouth, but paused when _he _frowned.

"Master…?" Frankenstein said, and then his eyes went wide in shock. "You don't know what a kiss is?"

…Dead. Frankenstein was going to kill him because he'd just taken _his_ first kiss!

* * *

Ahahaha! XD XD;;; Happy New Year...?


End file.
